1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tape printing apparatus for printing on a tape material in the form of a laminate of a printing tape and a peel-off paper, and more particularly to a tape printing apparatus for printing on a tape material in the form of a laminate of a printing tape and a peel-off paper, which is equipped with tape strip-discharging means for forcibly discharging a printed tape strip having been cut off, out of the apparatus.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, there has been proposed a tape printing apparatus that carries out printing while feeding a tape material in the form of a laminate of a printing tape and a peel-off paper, provides a half-cut portion in the printed portion of the tape material so as to facilitate the peeling of the peel-off paper, and fully cuts the printed portion of the tape material to a predetermined length, thereby producing a label element. The conventional tape printing apparatus has a full-cutting means arranged at a location downstream of a printing means, such a print head, in a tape-feeding direction, a half-cutting means arranged at a location downstream of the full-cutting means, and a tape exit formed at a location further downstream of the half-cutting means (Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication (Kokai) No. 5-20893).
As described above, the half-cutting means is located between the full-cutting means and the half-cutting means, and this increases the distance between the full-cutting means and the half-cutting means. Therefore, the tape strip cut off becomes difficult to fall out of the apparatus by its gravity, which can cause the problem of jamming and double cutting of the tape.
Further, the apparatus is configured such that the tape strip cut off is allowed to fall freely from the tape exit. To this end, the tape exit is formed such that it widens toward the outside so as to allow the cut tape strip to be smoothly discharged from the apparatus.
The conventional tape printing apparatus causes the cut tape strip to be discharged from the apparatus by free fall thereof, and hence so long as the tape strip is long, it can be discharged without difficulty, but if the same is short, it may remain within the apparatus e.g. due to the act of static electricity. This also causes the problem of jamming and double cutting of the tape strip.
It is an object of the invention to provide a tape printing apparatus which is capable of positively discharging a cut tape strip out of the apparatus by forcibly discharging the same, thereby preventing jamming and double cutting of the tape.
To attain the above object, the invention provides a tape printing apparatus a tape printing apparatus comprising:
tape feeding means for feeding a tape material in the form of a laminate of a printing tape and a peel-off paper;
printing means for printing on the tape material being fed by the tape feeding means;
full-cutting means arranged at a location downstream of the printing means in a tape-feeding direction, for cutting off the tape material;
a tape exit for discharging a printed tape strip of the tape material cut off by the full-cutting means; and
tape strip-discharging means for being brought into sliding rotational contact with the tape strip cut off by the full-cutting means, to thereby forcibly discharge the tape strip out of the tape printing apparatus via the tape exit.
This tape printing apparatus is equipped with the tape strip-discharging means for forcibly discharging the printed strip of the tape material cut off by the full-cutting means, out of the apparatus via the tape exit. Therefore, the cut-off strip of the tape material can be positively discharged out of the apparatus, thereby preventing the jamming and double cutting of the printed strip.
Preferably, the tape printing apparatus further includes half-cutting means for cutting off one of the printing tape and the peel-off tape of the tape material.
More preferably, the half-cutting means is arranged at a location downstream of the printing means in the tape-feeding direction, and the tape strip-discharging means is arranged at a location downstream of the half-cutting means in the tape-feeding direction.
According to this preferred embodiment, the distance between the print head and the full-cutting means can be minimized, so that a leading cutting margin of a tape material strip to be printed next can be minimized, enabling reduction of waste of the tape.
Preferably, the tape printing apparatus further includes a operation-synchronizing mechanism for synchronizing a cutting operation of the full-cutting means and a discharging operation of the tape strip-discharging means.
According to this preferred embodiment, the operation of the tape strip-discharging means is synchronized with the operation of the full-cutting means such that the tape discharging operation is carried out only when the full-cutting means performs full-cutting operation. Therefore, a tensile force is not applied to the tape material during printing or half-cutting, thereby preventing the tape strip-discharging means from exerting adverse influence on the printing and half-cutting.
Preferably, the tape printing apparatus further includes control means for causing the half-cutting means to carry out a cutting operation in precedence of the full-cutting means.
According to this preferred embodiment, the tape printing apparatus is capable of carrying out half-cutting desired times before the full-cutting means cuts off the tape material. This makes it possible to obtain a label element having a desired number of half-cut portions of the printed strip.
Preferably, the half-cutting means includes a half cutter that moves in a direction of a width of the tape material to perform a cutting operation, and moves away from the tape printing material when the half cutter does not perform the cutting operation, the half-cutter being covered by a cutter cover when the half-cutter does not perform the cutting operation.
According to this preferred embodiment, the half-cutting means moves in the direction of the width of the tape material to perform the cutting operation. In other words, it cuts off the tape material by its sliding motion, so that the cutting of the tape material can be effected with a much smaller force compared with a case in which the cutting is carried out by the force-cutting method, which makes it possible to attain the energy saving, downsizing of the construction of the apparatus, and reliable cutting. Further, the half cutter is away from the tape material when it does not perform the half-cutting, and hence does not obstruct the feeding of the tape material for printing, or mounting and removal of the tape material.
Preferably, the half-cutting means has a tape reception plate opposed to the half cutter with the tape material interposed therebetween, for receiving the tape printing material, and the tape reception plate is formed with a cut-away portion for allowing the tape strip-discharging means to be brought into the sliding rotational contact with the tape strip.
According to this preferred embodiment, the tape strip-discharging means is configured such that it bites into the cut-away portion formed in the tape reception plate, so that the distance between the half-cutting means and the tape strip-discharging means can be reduced. This makes it possible to reduce the width of a leading discharging margin of the tape material, to thereby reduce waste of the tape material.
Preferably, the tape strip-discharging means is brought into the sliding rotational contact with a peel-off paper side of the tape material, for discharging the tape strip.
According to this preferred embodiment, by arranging the tape strip-discharging means on a peel-off paper side, the printed strip of the tape material can be easily discharged along the acquired curling of the tape material, and further neither stains nor hurts the printed surface since the tape strip-discharging means does not hit the printing tape of the tape material.
Preferably, the tape strip-discharging means includes a discharge roller opposed to a tape-discharging passage leading to sad tape exit, for being brought into the sliding rotational contact with the tape strip, for flicking the tape strip out of the tape printing apparatus, a roller shaft for rotatably supporting the discharge roller, a motor for rotating the discharge roller, and a driving force-transmitting mechanism interposed between the discharge roller and the motor.
According to this preferred embodiment, when the motor rotates, the discharge roller is driven via the driving force-transmitting mechanism. The discharge roller is brought into the sliding rotational contact with the tape strip to flick the same out of the apparatus by frictional force to thereby forcibly discharge the tape strip. Thus, the discharge roller is brought into sliding contact (sliding rotational contact) with the tape strip, so that the tape strip can be positively flicked out.
Preferably the discharge roller includes a roller body, and a plurality of sliding contact pieces extending from the roller body, and expand outward by a centrifugal force generated by rotation of thereof.
According to this preferred embodiment, the sliding contact pieces are expanded as they rotate about the roller body, so that when they do not rotate, i.e. when the tape material is being fed before being cut, the discharge roller does not interfere with the feeding of the tape. Further, through the sliding contact of the plurality of sliding contact strips, the frictional force can be intermittently applied to the tape strip, whereby the tape strip can be efficiently flicked out.
Preferably, each of the sliding pieces comprises a flexible piece portion extending from the roller body, and a sliding-contact poise portion continuing from the flexible piece portion, the sliding-contact poise portion protrudes toward the tape material with respect to the flexible piece portion.
According to this preferred embodiment, as the discharge roller rotates, the only the sliding contact poise portions are brought into rotational contact with the tape strip, thereby intensively applying the frictional force to the tape strip. This makes it possible to further efficiently flick out the tape strip.
Preferably, at least the sliding-contact poise portion of the roller body, the flexible piece portion and the sliding-contact poise portion is formed by a rubber.
According to this preferred embodiment, by using a rubber for the sliding-contact poise portions which are brought into direct sliding contact with the tape strip, it is possible to apply sufficient driving force to the tape strip for discharge thereof.
Preferably, the sliding-contact poise portion has a chamfered backward corner portion at an outer peripheral end thereof in a direction of rotation of the roller body.
According to this preferred embodiment, when the tape material is being fed, the sliding-contact poise portions do not protrude into the tape-discharging path, so that it does not obstruct the feeding of the tape, but allows the same to be fed smoothly.
Preferably, the tape printing apparatus further includes a discharge sub-roller which is arranged in a manner opposed to the discharge roller in parallel therewith with the tape strip being discharged, interposed therebetween, and is capable of free rotation.
According to this preferred embodiment, the discharge sub-roller can minimize the braking frictional force which would be received by the surface of the tape strip on a side remote from the discharge roller. Therefore, the tape strip can be smoothly discharged.
Preferably, the discharge sub-roller has a constriction portion facing toward opposed ones of the sliding-contact portions of the discharge roller.
According to this preferred embodiment, the tape strip receiving the discharging force created by the rotation of the discharge roller is at the same time urged against the protruding portions on both sides of the constriction portion. This causes the tape strip to be guided at the two locations in the direction of the width of the tape strip, so that the tape strip can be flicked out straightforward.
Preferably, the tape printing apparatus includes an apparatus frame, and the roller shaft is supported on the apparatus frame in a cantilever manner.
According to this preferred embodiment, the discharge roller can be easily arranged in a narrow space. Further, the resilient properties of the roller shaft can be utilized, and the sliding contact pieces can be stably brought into contact with the tape strip without undue stress.
Preferably the motor also serves a drive source for the full-cutting means, and causes the discharge roller to rotate in synchronisms with a cutting operation of the full-cutting means.
By the way, when a tape material having a different tape width is cut, it takes different time for a scissors-type cutter or slide-type cutter to completely cut off the tape material, depending on the width of the tape. According to this preferred embodiment, the discharge roller is rotated simply in synchronism with the cutting operation of the cutter, so that even a tape material having a different width can be discharged simultaneously when the tape material is cut off, and further the control system need not be made complicated. Further, since the motor serves both the drive forces for the full-cutting means and the discharge roller, the number of components can be reduced and at the same time, the space can be saved.
Preferably, the tape printing apparatus further includes a pair of discharge guide plates arranged adjacent to the tape strip-discharging means, for guiding the tape strip to the tape exit, and one of the pair of discharge guide plates toward the discharge roller is formed with a cut-away portion for allowing the discharge roller to be brought into the rotational sliding contact with the tape strip.
According to this preferred embodiment, the pair of discharge guide plates can effectively prevent the tape strip from being deviated from the tape-discharging path between the cutter and the tape exit. Further, even if the tape strip has a residual tendency of curling, it can be smoothly guided to the tape exit.
Preferably, another of the pair of discharge guide plates has the discharge sub-roller being rotatably mounted thereon.
According to this preferred embodiment, the discharge sub-roller can be properly arranged, and at the same time, it is possible to prevent the number of components from being increased.
Preferably, at least one of the pair of discharge guide plates has an inner surface formed with a plurality of projections extending in parallel with each other in a tape-discharging direction.
According to this preferred embodiment, it is possible to reduce the braking frictional force produced between the discharge guide plates and the tape strip. Particularly, this is effective when the tape has a tendency of curling.
Preferably, the plurality of projections correspond to respective lower end positions of tape strips having different tape widths.
According to this preferred embodiment, even when any of predetermined tape strips having different widths is used, it is possible to reduce the braking frictional produced caused by the discharge guide plates.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.